MAC Men's Basketball Release (.PDF)
Updated Stats
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
AKRON
The first game of the Akron/Kent State rivalry series came down to the final seconds as the Golden Flashes pulled out a one-point, 68-67, victory over the Zips at the M.A.C. Center last Friday. Akron (16-6, 6-3 MAC) had four players reach double figures in scoring with junior Loren Cristian Jackson leading the way with 19 points. Seniors Xeyrius Williams and Tyler Cheese followed with 15 points each. Williams captured his ninth double-double with a team-high 10 rebounds while dishing out four assists. Cheese also stuffed the stat sheet with six rebounds and six assists. Senior Channel Banks rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10 points.
BALL STATE
BSU had lost 11 straight on Kent State's home floor. Hadn't won there since 1999. Went to overtime on the last visit but couldn't get it. On Tuesday night, the Cardinals exorcised the demons. Ball State (13-9, 6-3 MAC) shook off a slow start to overcome a 13-point deficit and grab the lead by halftime. The Cardinals never trailed after the break on the way to a 62-54 victory. Ball State handed Kent State (16-7, 6-4 MAC) just its second home loss of the season and did it behind another big all-around performance from Tahjai Teague. The fifth-year senior scored 12 points, pulled down 17 rebounds and handed out six assists.
BOWLING GREEN
Bowling Green and Toledo are set to wrap up a 2020 home-and-home series on Saturday (Feb. 8) afternoon at the Stroh Center. The Falcons went into Savage Arena on Jan. 25, and walked away with an 85-79 win, marking the program’s first victory in the Glass City since 2011. Since 2018, Bowling Green has racked up a record of 24-3 inside the friendly confines of the Stroh Center. That record is good enough for a conference-leading .889 winning percentage. The Falcons are 10-1 at home in 2019-20.
BUFFALO
The Bulls return home for their third of five straight nationally-televised Friday night games. Buffalo welcomes Central Michigan to Alumni Arena for the second of two meetings against the Chippewas. Buffalo has won the last nine meetings against Central Michigan and leads the all-time series 23-14. Sophomore Josh Mballa has now recorded double-doubles in three straight games, the first UB player to do that since Justin Moss in the 2014-15 season when he has four straight games with a double-double. Over the last three games, Mballa is averaging 13.7 points and 14.3 rebounds per game over the last three contests.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN
The Chippewas, winners of three straight games, lead the MAC West at 6-2 and are 13-8 overall. Buffalo, the two-time defending MAC Tournament champion, is 14-9, 5-5. CMU senior forward David DiLeo is on the verge of history. He needs one 3-pointer to become the program's career leader in triples, and he needs four to become the all-time leader in the MAC. DiLeo hit six 3-pointers and scored 26 points in Tuesday's win over Bowling Green. That put his career total at 306 and ties him with Josh Kozinski (2013-18) atop the Chippewa chart. Toledo's Nate Navigato (2015-19) is the MAC career leader with 309.
EASTERN MICHIGAN
EMU (12-10, 2-7 MAC) earned its second-consecutive conference win of the 2019-20 season, as it topped Buffalo, 66-62, Feb. 4, inside the Convocation Center. The Zips hold a 16-6 overall record with a 6-3 league mark, and are on a two-game losing streak as UA dropped a close 68-67 affair at Kent State, Jan. 31. EMU men's basketball has tallied 200 victories in the Convocation Center since it opened for the 1998-99 season with the 66-62 victory over Buffalo, Feb. 4.
KENT STATE
The Kent State men's basketball team dropped to 16-7 overall and 6-4 in conference play after a 62-54 loss to Ball State at home. Ball State's defense limited the Flashes' perimeter offense to 1-of-10 from beyond the arc. The Flashes have five players averaging in double-figure scoring with Troy Simons (13.0 ppg), Anthony Roberts (12.1 ppg), Antonio Williams (13.8 ppg), and Danny Pippen (14.0 ppg), and Phil Whittington (10.0 ppg)
MIAMI
Miami came up just short in a 64-60 loss to Western Michigan on Tuesday evening at Millett Hall. The loss drops Miami to 9-13 overall and 2-7 in Mid-American Conference play. The Broncos improve to 10-12, 3-6. Freshman Dae Dae Grant scored a career-high 20 points and added five assists and three rebounds. Precious Ayah and Milos Jovic each added 10 points off the bench and Dalonte Brown had eight points and six rebounds.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Northern Illinois welcomes Kent State to the NIU Convocation Center on Friday night, February 7, in a game that will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network. Tipoff between the Huskies and Golden Flashes is scheduled for 6 p.m. NIU (14-9, 7-3) brings a five-game win streak, the longest current streak in the Mid-American Conference, into Friday's game after winning at Toledo, 66-61, on Tuesday night (Feb. 4). Senior Eugene German scored a game-high 25 points in the victory over the Rockets, extending his school scoring record to 2,025 career points, which also ranks 13th in MAC history.
OHIO
Redshirt senior guard Jordan Dartis tied Nick Kellogg with 290 career made three-pointers Saturday afternoon (Feb. 1), however the Ohio men's basketball team fell to Mid-American Conference opponent Ball State (12-9, 5-3 MAC), 65-54. Redshirt sophomore forward Ben Vander Plas finished the game with 12 points and a team-leading nine rebounds. Freshman guard Lunden McDay led the Bobcats with 11 points, going 5-of-7 from the field, while sophomore guard Jason Preston finished the game with nine points, four rebound and five assists. Freshman guard Miles Brown finished the game with a team-high three steals. Overall, Ohio shot 35.6 percent from the field, 17.9 percent from three-point range and 77.8 percent from the free throw line, while Ball State shot 38.6 percent from the field, 24.1 percent from three-point range and 93.3 percent from the free throw line.
TOLEDO
The Rockets dropped a 66-61 decision to Northern Illinois on Tuesday. Junior Marreon Jackson is leading Toledo in scoring and ranks second in the MAC with 19.0 ppg. He is also second in league play with 21.6 ppg. Also ranking in the MAC's Top 10 in scoring for the Rockets is senior Luke Knapke at 15.8 ppg (6th in MAC), who was named the MAC's Male Scholar Athlete of Week on Wednesday. Senior Willie Jackson and junior Spencer Littleson are averaging 11.7 ppg and 10.8 ppg, respectively.
WESTERN MICHIGAN
For the first time this season and first time since Feb. 23, 2018 the Western Michigan men's basketball captured a road Mid-American Conference victory, defeating Miami 64-60 on Tuesday night inside Millett Hall. The victory snapped WMU's 14-game MAC road winless streak and secured the Broncos seventh straight victory in Oxford and sixth straight overall in the series. WMU improved its overall record to 10-12 and 3-6 in conference play.
